Harmful Foods for Dogs

Watch out, poison!

There is a whole list of foods that are truly dangerous for a dog. This is chocolate – the substances contained in it lead to irregular heart rhythms, hyperactivity, tremors, convulsions, even death. Alcohol leads to tachycardia, swelling of the mucous membranes, fever. Avocado can cause lethargy, weakness, cardiomyopathy in a dog. Grapes and raisins – provoke the development of kidney failure.

Other dangerous foods include macadamia nuts, onions and garlic, and the sweetener xylitol. Large amounts of milk in an adult dog’s diet can cause diarrhea.

Food without benefit

However, in general, harmless products are not always useful to the animal. It’s all about the balance of nutrients and trace elements, as well as the degree of digestibility of food.

In total, the dog should receive about 40 essential components with food. An excess or deficiency of any of them leads to trouble. In particular, zinc deficiency leads to weight loss, growth retardation, skin and coat problems. With a supersaturation of this element, calcium and copper are “washed out” from the body. At the same time, it is rather difficult to understand how much zinc an animal consumed with homemade food: after all, it is contained in beef more than in pork, and less in the kidneys than in the liver. The same can be said about other important elements: iron, copper, sodium, vitamins and so on.

As for digestibility, a dog from 100 grams of beef, which contains approximately 20% protein, receives only 75% of this protein, and, for example, from 100 grams of prepared food – about 90%.

Safe Choice

To protect your pet from hazardous foods and provide him with a healthy, balanced diet, the owner should feed the dog commercially available diets. They contain all the components necessary for the animal in the correct proportions.

A combination of dry and wet diets is considered optimal. Dry food – for example, Pedigree for adult dogs of all breeds complete food with beef – takes care of the dog’s teeth, has a beneficial effect on digestion. Wet – for example, Royal Canin Adult Light for adult dogs from 10 months to 8 years – is engaged in the prevention of obesity.

Ready-made foods are also available under the brands Chappi, Cesar, Eukanuba, Purina Pro Plan, Hill’s and so on.